ECONOMIC IMPACT PAYMENTS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND SSI BENEFICIARIES WITH REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES

The Social Security Administration recently issued an update that beneficiaries who have their regular monthly payments managed for them by another person, called a representative payee, will begin receiving their economic impact payments (EIPs) from the IRS in late May.  It is important to note that under Medicaid rules, a stimulus payment is not counted as income. Therefore, receiving a stimulus payment does not change a resident’s monthly payment (often called a ‘patient pay amount’ or ‘share of cost’). The resident pays the same monthly amount to the nursing facility and keeps the stimulus payment for their own use. In addition, the stimulus payment does not count as a Medicaid resource for 12 months. In other words, for the first year, the payment cannot cause you to have ‘too much’ savings.

More details on these payments can be found in this SSA press release. You may also find information about the eligibility requirements and other information about the Economic Impact Payments here. In addition, please continue to visit the IRS at  www.irs.gov/coronavirus for the latest information. Social Security will continue to update the agency’s COVID-19 web page with additional information.